Ask Lemmy

Hiking helped me a lot. I was out in the wilderness, touching grass, actually doing something for my health. Exploring the Alps was one of the best ideas I have ever had.

Yes.

Also, don't take anyone else's recommendation; any kind of movement is exercise, so figure out what you want to do. Any activity counts as exercise, so bike or swim or swing a broadsword or a katana or a baseball bat. Even singing counts as exercise and joining a chorus is a great way to get out and meet people.

No, not at all. It made things worse. I really think it is very good that many people benefit from exercise. However, it can in some cases also harm your mental health. I think it is important for people to know this. The benefits of exercise are so well known, that the people who it is harmful for often are pressured into exercising anyway and made to feel like a failure if it does not benefit them. It took me a long time and a lot of pain to find this out. I want to tell my story in case someone is in the same boat as me.

Years ago I was feeling so bad I could not get out of bed for a couple of months. The psychologist I was seeing kept pressuring me to exercise. So, I tried it and I hated it. I really had a lot of trouble even doing the smallest things, like making food for myself or go to the supermarket. It all seemed like an impossible task. Now I had to spend the little energy I had to regulate myself to go to the gym or to run.

When I was exercising, it felt like genuine torture. I just hated every second. Afterwards, I would just feel extra tired and very sad about the pain Inhad been in and anxious about having to go again next time.

I was too timid to really stand up for myself and I did not want to fail at yet another thing. I thought it was just my fault and I just was too lazy and should be harder on myself. So, I tried to keep going, even though I could not sleep the night before and I went there crying. When I said something about it, the psychologist kept pressuring me to do it like it was some magic fix for everything. I just needed to do it often enough.

On my way to the gym, I started to wish more and more that I would be in an accident and get wounded so I did not have to go anymore. One time, on my way to the gym, I tripped and fell. I had a big bruise on my knee, but it was not bad enough to not have to exercise anymore. So, I sat on my knee on the bruise the whole night in the hope that it would get worse. It hurt, but it was not nearly as bad as exercising. When I told my psychologist she said that she could not help me if I self-harmed and I should go somewhere else. However, I was not self-harming to harm myself. I was actually protecting myself against something that was bad for me. I could not explain that at the time.

Years later, I went to a psychosomatic physiotherapist. In the years in between, I got the advise to exercise for my mental health numerous times. Each time I tried it, I failed. No matter how much I tried, it keep feeling like torture, my mood got worse and physically I did not improve at all. I always kept thinking that it was my fault and just not trying hard enough.

So, when I went to the new physiotherapist, I started out with telling him that I knew I should exercise and that I was stupid foe not doing so. He immediately stopped me and told me I should not exercise at all. He explained to me that when you exercise, your stress levels go up temporarily and then they go down and usually lower than they were before you started exercising. That is why most people benefit from stress reduction after exercise.

However, in my case, my stress levels were extremely high, all the time. They were so high that if I started to exercise, they would be pushed up above the maximum that my body was able to handle (he drew a chart where the line hit the top of the chart). So, for my body, exercise did not feel like a temporary increase in stress that would go down after a while, it felt like an extreme emergency situation that it could not adapt to. This would further disregulate my stress system. That is why it felt like torture, and why my mood got worse and why I did not have any physical improvement from exercise.

He told me moving was good to calm my nervous system. So, slow walking in the forest and things like that. And just quit as soon as I did not feel like it, or it gave me stress and just try some other time when I felt like it again. And that worked like a charm. I walk now for 4 to 6 hours a week and it calms me down. I do not have to push myself. I just feel like doing it and if I don't, I just won't go.

So, the point is that exercise can be great to help with stress, if your stress is maybe at 70% or 80%. However, if your stress level is consistently at 95% then it is harmful and you should not do it. (Mindfulness probably will not help either in that case btw.) If exercise keeps feeling like torture and it does not help you, do not feel like a failure and keep torturing yourself. It is not your fault if it does not work for you! Go to a psychosomatic therapist instead that has expertise in stress management. They might be able to help you.

This is really frustrating to type out, but honestly no. I've been working out consistently for 2-3 months now, and if anything I feel more tired and irritated throughout the day than I did before. I've got a lot on my plate right now, so it's possible that the extra activity minus a little bit of sleep is to blame rather than the exercise itself. I look and feel much stronger than I did before, and I'd like to think that my mental attitude has improved, but honestly ever since I started working out I just always want to be in bed.

I hate working out. I don't get the endorphins from it that other people seem to talk about. Directly, no. I didn't get anything from it.

But...

I look good. People speak to me differently. I have more and better sex. Better for quality makes me not feel like shit all the time. My personal image has changed and I time myself depressed a lot less.

So ultimately, yes. Go to the damn gym.

I have family members who suffer from several mental health issues - depression, anxiety and related. They have all found exercise helpful. Doesn’t really matter what kind- yoga, cross fit, swimming, running - just establish a routine, do it a few times a week. It made a big difference for them (or going for a walk - what ever works for your fitness/health level)

Yes.

Don't wanna. Do it anyway. Feel better.

That's how it goes every single time lol

Yes, without a doubt.

A few months ago, a new gym set up near where I live - like, five minutes walking distance away.

We took a tour of it, and saw that it's a really nice facility. The ventilation and spacing of equipment is good (for avoiding disease), the variety of equipment is good, and it just seems like the ideal gym.

So my family and I thought, "Why not? Let's get a family membership." Now I head down there most mornings, spend an hour or so exercising, and then walk back, sometimes with coffee from a nice nearby cafe in hand.

I hadn't noticed the slow decline in how I felt about my body and my life. I've always been a pretty fit guy, but the pandemic made me more sedentary than usual, and it was slowly affecting my self-esteem and mental health.

And I didn't realize that until the effects of working out regularly showed up and I started looking and feeling better again. It was a "boiled frog" situation.

That gym moving nearby might have saved my life long-term, because I don't know how I would have gotten the impetus to go to a more distant one otherwise.

It's just been a few months, but I've already put on visible muscle and lowered noticeable belly fat substantially. And more importantly, I feel stronger than I have for several years. Like, lifting things is easier, carrying furniture is easier, just... moving is easier. I probably weigh more, because muscle is denser than fat, but I feel lighter.

It's a good feeling. It's clearing away a brain fog I didn't know I had. My software work is improving, I'm writing again, and I'm re-engaging with hobbies and interests that had fallen by the wayside.

If you can't or don't want to get a gym membership, learn some body weight exercises, find a park you can jog at.. Do something physical every day. Your brain and body are one system, and keeping all of it tuned and maintained is important for mental health.

So thanks everyone for posting here, I appreciate it.

So the context is that I'm a very sedentary person. I basically get up, go to my computer and stay there all day. I don't even stretch every hour or whatever. Over the last two (well, now three) days I've tried to go on short (like 10 minute) walks during lunch breaks and... Well, it's kinda working, I think? Or it could be a coincidence or a natural "high" in the sine wave of depression.

Interestingly, I've been told that I should feel better right after walking, but I don't really. Like, I feel basically the same as I do when I start the walk. Perhaps even a little worse because it just gives me a chance to worry about the things I worry about. If it does help, it seems to be in the next few hours or days.

Anyway, at the very least, exercise will stop me dying when I hit 40. :P Still, it is worrying the number of people that say that it eventually goes away when the "novelty wears off", so to speak. That tends to happen to me a lot with a bunch of the stuff I try; I lose motivation, break the habit and go back to how I used to be... Blegh.

Obviously I've seen all the articles saying it's amazing, but I've also seen articles saying it's overblown and a myth or that there's no evidence. Standard article stuff, really. Figured it might be a good discussion topic to get some activity going on Lemmy and spark some interesting discussions.

Absolutely. No question about it.

If fact I find that exercise is the only thing that brings instant relief. There's not a single time I've went to the gym feeling shitty and came out not feeling better. I believe it's scientifically proven that exercise is as good or better treatment for depression than anti-depressants.

An exercise routine has helped me a lot, exercising sporadically, not so much. I don't really feel a sudden sense of relief from a single session, but I've noticed that when I'm working out regularly, I feel better overall. It's not a sudden change, and not a "cure all", but it helps me focus better during the day, sleep better at night, crave less junk food/alcohol, and just feel less sense of "everything sucks". The routine also really helps me stick to other daily habits that I'm embarrassed to admit I struggle with, such as brushing my teeth.

I'm currently working to get back on my full routine, but in the past, I did weightlifting Mon-Fri, with intense cardio (running, stairs, etc.) MWF and chill cardio (walking) TTh. When I was really, really into it, that naturally led to being quite active on weekends too, such as 5k's, long ass walks around town, and hiking.

My advice to anyone trying to start a routine is to start small and gradually build it up. So step 1 for getting back to my full routine right now is a short daily walk. Once the short walks become a natural part of my daily rhythm, I might make the walks a little longer, add in a little running, and/or add in some light strength training moves, all depending on my overall goals and what feels within reach.

When I'm depressed, working out or even just going for a vigorous walk is hard as hell.

BUT IT DOES HELP. But it isn't a magic pill you have to force yourself to keep at it.

Definitely. It's not like it's all pink clouds and roses but it absolutely helped.

I have found that I'm generally in better mental health when I'm exercising, but I don't know which causes the other.

Running helped a lot. Maybe not at the beginning but later on. It makes me feel happy

Yes. Every single time. Even if it is just walking around the block at a swift pace a few times a week (light to medium exercise). Usually the depression reduces after the 3rd or 4th time, sometimes sooner: fewer negative thoughts, less anhedonia, more motivation, less negative attitude, etc. If I keep at it, usually I actually can find myself in a good mood. Why the hell do I stop exercising then? I'll have to get back to you on that.

it helped for the first weeks, then I was back to baseline (suicidal)

Tried it for six months, mostly body weight exercises and dumbbells, three to five times a week. Aside from a moderate improvement in fitness (which I have no interest in), it changed nothing at all. No increased energy, no happy feelings, just a waste of time.

Exercise will not magically cure your mental health. I believe being active and not having a sedentary lifestyle is generally good for mental health but it's not going to necessarily cure depression or anxiety.

It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what put me in a better mental state, as I started working out, dieting, and decreasing my alcohol consumption all at once. I don't think working out by itself is going to help, you have to attack the issue from various angles.

Exercise helped me, but didn't work by itself.

Adding therapy helped more, but didn't work by itself.

Adding meds helped more, but I don't lean on them alone.

Which is just to say, it's not either/or. :-)

That said, I started going on long nature hikes, usually 4-5 miles but up to 17 sometimes. Download podcasts and music for offline access. Later, my therapist suggested taking notes after my walks, about how I felt / what was on my mind -- now I do it more often than not, and it's been helpful too.

Here's my experience. Working out as in strength training I did for 9 months and, no, I did get more fit and that is satisfactory but leaves me just super tired.

Long distance running and cycling I've done on and off throughout the years give me a runner's high and though tired I feel really good.

As someone with ADHD, if I don't workout at least once a week (e.g. walking to the gym & lifting weights for 30-60 mins) and get those endorphins, my mental health starts to noticeably decline, so yes.

I have recently started making myself go on a walk at least once a day, and I can definitely say it increases your mood over time. It's not noticeable at first, but after a week or so I was definitely feeling more 'fresh' and energetic than before.

Going for a walk also forced me to get some vitamin D which helped keep me going too.

It's 100% worth it.

I wasn't depressed to begin with but weightlifting helped me feel better about myself and quieting those voices that kept telling me that i was to lazy & fat. A year ago i started running which is much harder starting from zero but the mental effect of an extended run or the rewarding feeling of completing your first 10k is incredible.

Also dont wait for motivation, just start now and it will come later.

I went to the gym for about a year, went on a stricter diet too, but it was making me even more miserable so I stopped. Absolutely hated the narcissist/"motivational" subculture surrounding it all too.

Yes. Exercising fixed my depression when nothing else could.

It does. It's kinda funny, waking up an hour early to lift weights makes me feel better for days. I get sleepy earlier but I have more energy during the day.

Long distance cardio is tiring but it feels good after and life stuff is easier to handle with that endurance.

I used to suffer from clinical depression, and part of that I believe is because I used food as a coping mechanism to deal with inescapable stress and other pressures of toxic hyper-capitalist society (basically like anyone else with a substance abuse problem, except my substance was pizza).

Eating pizza every day, makes you fat. Being fat, makes life harder in general, you weigh more, are constantly fatigued, doing simple actions requires more effort, and dating is well - I mean, it's tougher.

Add the depression on top of that and it's like those jokes: "Sick, fat, lonely and tired." A recipe for disaster.

I began working out, but the word is wrong. I began training. I didn't follow the same policies and procedures of the lethally infirm/sick society that made me sick in the first place, but I went and struck it out on my own.

I went to the outskirts of the city, to No Man's Land, and I cycled in the mid afternoon summer's heat, 4-5 hours at a time.

I know what you're thinking, "where does someone find the time to cycle 4-5 hours a day while holding down a job for 8 hours as well" and the answer is, your instinctual response to this tells you everything you need to know about how our society is organized and how we approach diet, exercise, and living in general.

I didn't "work out". I didn't "exercise" to look good. I didn't meticulously drive 3 miles to an air conditioned gym to run 3 miles in place on a fucking rolling machine.

I crawled through the gaping maw of hell and emerged the other side, intact. Alive, and without the depression around my ankles.

So yeah, it helped. :)

Yeah, it helps keep me sharp and alert. Also, emotional regulation.

Diet is probably more important for me. But exercise is definitely beneficial to my mental and emotional health.

Yes, seeing the results after months of consistent exercise is very satisfying. It adds value to our life and thus makes us happy.

Exercise for strength, aesthetics, flexibility and not just for living longer. Just be gentle and kind to yourself and don't push too hard or stress in getting results. Exercising with friends is always fun.

In fact any thing or activity that adds value to our life for example: playing an instrument etc. Will make us happy. Most important thing is to enjoy doing it as then only we'll stick to it.

Very much so. Do it even if you have to force yourself. Do it outside in sunlight if you can, too. There have been lots of times I've dreaded working out beforehand. I don't think I've ever once regretted it after I exercised.

Heavy lifting specifically works wonders for me.

Absolutely YES. I hate running but it works better for anxiety than anything, in terms of immediate relief. Just put on your shoes and run. Get exhausted and your mind will relax. Power yoga has helped over the longer term, but is not as quick, it's more like prevention.

Dancing is hella therapeutic as well, can really help you bring up and process emotions, and if you can do it to exhaustion, works like running does but with the added advantage of engaging your mind while doing it, so you don't think as much.

I have relied on exercise to manage anxiety for about 30 years now. It does absolutely work.

ETA: I don't know if it would help depression and it didn't solve my mom's bipolar issues, she was always fit. Nothing is magic. But for 'simple' anxiety I have not found anything to work better than physical exercise to exhaustion. Get tired, sleep better, feel more relaxed and grounded.

I don't notice much of a difference myself, but those around me tell me that there's a huge difference in my behavior between when I'm exercising regularly and when I'm not. And my roomates have let me know that they prefer that I keep up my exercise routine, as it makes me more pleasant to be around, lol.

It's definitely a crutch for me. I've used exercise several times recently to give myself an attitude adjustment.

Mostly no, which appears to be the minority so I'll share. Adding exercise is adding stress, you need to find time, expend energy, you are physically tired afterwards, you feel guilt when you skip, muscle aches... It's all just terrible, but your body typically rewards you with endorphins to make it feel worthwhile, and more importantly it gives you a lot more opportunities. When you are in shape your perceived charisma goes up significantly, mostly because you are more attractive.

Reward needs to balance with effort. You'll have a lot more fun with concrete commitments, or if you actually enjoy the activity and want to do it. Going to the gym is depressing, but showing up for the weekly sportsball game will make sure you run a little every week and you might make some active friends that will introduce you to more things. Pickleball and indoor rock climbing are two entry friendly activities.

I used exercise to cope with overwhelming gender dysphoria before I was able to transition.

It was incredibly helpful, and I got super fit, but it's also easy to overdo it, and balancing that can be a challenge when you're using it as a coping mechanism